Good info on artillery, late 18th century

[Stonewallis]

http://www.americanrevolution.org/artillery.html

It suggests mortars were starting to be used in the field, 6 pounder canon shot well over 1000 yards, and howitzers had a much smaller charge and barrel length than canon. Hinting that howitzers had a shorter range than canon.

400 yard canon range in game does seem pretty gimpy. Ah well one can dream.

EDIT:
http://xenophongroup.com/mcjoynt/yrtnarty.htm

This source states these statistics (at the time of Yorktown):

Cannons: Maximum Range - 2,000 yds (1.2 miles)
Effective Range - 1,000 yds (.6 miles)

Mortars: Maximum Range - 1,400 yds (.8 miles)
Effective Range - 750 yds (.4 miles)

Howitzers: Maximum Range - 1,300 yds (.8 miles)
Effective Range - 750 yds (.4 miles)

[Theoo]

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[Stonewallis]

wowe so good info. this. the biest thred on this foreum. the biest thred maker. legend of . threds. +rep my eys ar . amazement.

My sarcasm detector is beeping but I can really never tell on teh weeeb. But thanks.

[Kazang]

Quite informative.

[TeutonicKnight]

Good article, thanks for posting that.

[Stonewallis]

shameless bump. I just want someone from CA to take notice forgive me.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

Interesting, so cannons had more range than mortars?

[Hellman109]

Yes, Canons traditionally had the most range.

[Humble Warrior]

Yes, Canons traditionally had the most range.

I guess I`m one of the few who would see that as obvious? Cannons shoot straight and mortars lob. So mortars are going to have a closer range. Practise with a ball, lob it then throw it, see which goes further. This is really focused at CTRLALTDEL1337.

[l33tl4m3r]

Watch for my next release, in the unit overhaul I increased cannon range. You can download just the extended range portion of the mod even.

Thanks Stonewallis, this info helped a lot!

[Flavius Silvanus]

Here is a good link to American Civil War artillery for purposes of comparison.

http://www.civilwarhome.com/artillery.htm

[MyOwnSling]

On second thought, I'm a moron. Feet != yards

[Frederf]

Trajectory wise you would figure that cannons and mortars would have a lower range than the intermediate-elevation howitzers. Maximum firing range for a gun is in the 25-45 degree range depending mostly on the aerodynamics of the projectile which is the normal operating elevations of howitzers.

However howitzers and mortars were often made to fire delicate, large, and/or heavy projectiles so powder charges and barrel lengths were made shorter to reduce strain on both the barrel and the projectile. The barrel's purpose is to be a pressure vessel and contain the expanding powder burn in order to transmit its energy to the projectile. If the barrel is too short then a lot of the expanding gas is wasted before it has a chance to push the shot and if it's too long the friction can start to counter the energy of the shot or let the pressure build too high which can cause damage to the barrel's walls.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

I guess I`m one of the few who would see that as obvious? Cannons shoot straight and mortars lob. So mortars are going to have a closer range. Practise with a ball, lob it then throw it, see which goes further. This is really focused at CTRLALTDEL1337.

It really depends a lot on the size/length of the barrel (mainly for accuracy) and the powder and balls used (for distance). You need some elevation to get the maximum range, but too much (like a mortar) would obviously be shorter. It just seems like to me that most cannons would shoot no farther than a howitzer, but I guess other factors than elevation come into play.